Welcome To The Family
by digigal1
Summary: While Gordon is volunteering at a summer camp, one little girl steals his heart. Will she be able to do the same to the rest of the Tracy clan?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This idea has been rolling around in my head since high school, before I even knew that fanfiction was an actual thing. Although the new series brought back thoughts of the story I lost when my laptop was stolen, Sarah McHenry has never been far from my mind. This is my first Thunderbirds fic and constructive criticism is gratefully appreciated. Standard disclaimers apply!

"Catch me, Gordon!" said the skinny little girl with her red hair in a pixie cut at the edge of the pool. West Virginia was the last place Gordon Tracy thought he would be spending his two weeks off from the hustle of International Rescue, but here he was, camp counselor for abused and neglected children. Sarah McHenry seemed to take a liking to him, and refused to leave his side for the duration of the camp. She was a ward of the state, meaning that her parents abused her so much, that she had been taken away. Gordon had seen the orphanage she stayed in, and he decided that that was not the right environment for such a bright girl. He caught her as she jumped into the water, laughing as he's spun her around. She then started to practice the butterfly stroke with Gordon correcting her as she went.

"Looking great, kiddo. Pretty soon you'll be as fast as I am," he said, his Hazel eyes full of pride and admiration.

Sarah's case worker, Karen Priddy, watched as they splashed around. She loved seeing grown adults become kids again and Gordon was no exception. She hadn't known him for very long, but she could tell there was something on his mind. A half hour went by before they climbed out of the water. Karen handed them some sports drinks and draped some towels in nearby chairs. "You're really coming along with your swimming, Sarah."

"Well, I got a great coach," she said smiling at Gordon.

Fishing some money out of his duffel bag, he asked Sarah, "Why don't you go get us some lunch at the snack bar? Three hamburger meals oughta do it." He watched her walk away and then quickly turned to Karen. "Now that we alone, I've got something I wanna ask ya. You know how I feel about Sarah and her situation. I was thinking that maybe for the rest of the summer, she could come home with me to my family's private island. Maybe eventually adopting her. She'd have four loving uncles, a wonderful great-grandmother who makes the best pies and cookies, and a grandfather who can be a little strict, but means well. Even our house man Kyrano and his daughter Tin Tin would love her like family."

"I don't know, Gordon. It's not my decision to make. You're talking about taking a 5 year old girl half way around the world to some tropical paradise for 2 months. Will we be able to reach you? What if there's an emergency? What if she gets homesick?" she asked, steamrolling over his answers.

"If you give me a minute to answer, I'll tell ya! Sheesh! You already have my satellite phone number, and I'll give the agency the video phone number for the island. Trust me when I say we're more than ready for any emergencies that could happen. And we can arrange for weekly calls with one the day after our usual mail and supply drop. I've been thinking about this ever since I saw the orphanage. As much as you try, you know that's not the right place for her. Sarah needs a family and I didn't know I needed her until I got here. Let me talk to Father and the director. If I can't convince them both, I'll drop it and you'll have a full time counselor for the next ten summers," he quickly explained.

"You do realize that someone will have to come to the island too for inspections. We can't have her being placed in a home that is just as bad, if not worse."

"Hey, full disclosure. What ever you need, I can have Tin Tin fax to you."

"Ms. Karen, Gordon, what are talking about?" asked Sarah when she came back with the burgers.

"Well," said Gordon, scratching the back of his head, "I didn't want to get your hopes up, but I'm trying to see if you can come home with me for the rest of the summer." He smiled when she squealed and jumped into his arms. "Take it easy, kiddo. Nothing's set just yet. I still need to talk to the director of the orphanage and my father about it. I may be in my 20's, but Father still calls the shots in our house." Reaching into his duffel bag yet again, he produced his satellite phone, hit the speed dial for home, and put it on speaker.

An Oriental sounding voice answered the call. "Hello? Tracy Island."

"Kyrano, it's Gordon. Is Father around? I need to ask him a favor," he said, signaling everybody to be quiet.

"I shall try to find him, Mr. Gordon," said the house man.

A few minutes later, a gruff sounding voice said, "Go ahead, Gordon. How are the mountains treating you?"

"Just fine, Father. There's something I'd like to ask you. While I was volunteering at the camp, I started coaching one little girl in swimming and I'd like to keep it up through the rest of the summer. I'm sending you a picture now," said Gordon as he snapped a quick selfie with Sarah.

"She's a beautiful girl, but what do her parents have to say about this?"

"That's the thing, Father. She's a ward of state. Her parents have no say."

"Then, are you asking for a longer vacation?"

"No, I was asking to bring her home with me. It's just for 2 months."

"Gordon, do you realize what you're saying?"

"Yes, I do, and I know in my heart it's the right thing. We can iron out the details later, but I need a yes or no now before I go back to the orphanage."

An elderly-sounding voice said in the background, "Oh, Jeff! I don't see the harm. It's only for the summer and it would be nice to hear little feet running around the house."

"Great! I'll call you back in a few hours with video feed from the orphanage!" said Gordon as he switched off the phone.

"That didn't sound like a yes to me," said Karen, a little suspicious.

"It wasn't a no, either," he said with a sly grin. "If I know Grandma, she'll have him talked into it by the time we call back. Relax, will ya? I've got everything under control."


	2. Chapter 2

**Standard disclaimer. I only own my characters and story!**

To say Jeff Tracy was fuming was a grave understatement. He slammed his fist on top of his desk, then turned to the radio equipment behind him to hide his grimace of pain. Gordon knew as well as any of them the risk of having uninvited guests. How would they keep International Rescue a secret from an orphanage? Could she keep it to herself when she goes back? He was still rubbing his hand when Tin Tin came into the lounge. Mrs. Tracy was on the sofa, writing out a list. "Is everything alright, Mr. Tracy? I thought I heard Gordon on the phone," said Tin Tin.

"You did, and I don't know if we can do it," said Jeff, somehow resisting the urge to hit the desk a second time.

"It's not as bad as you make it out to be. Whoever comes with the girl will get the nickel tour of the island and we save the best for after they leave. Little girls are better at keeping secrets than you think, dear," said Mrs. Tracy.

"Oh, is he bringing someone home with him?" asked Tin Tin. The selfie was still on the monitor, with Sarah's bright smile beaming from the picture.

"He most certainly is not! It's too big of a security risk. I know his heart's in the right place, but how are we going to keep an inspector busy for a few days, especially if there's an emergency call?" he reminded them.

"Same as we do any time we have visitors, Mr. Tracy. Operation Cover-up and I can give 'diving lessons' as the need arises. I say we bring the boys in and take a vote," said Tin Tin.

A few minutes later the Tracys, Kyranos, and Brains gathered in the lounge with Alan on video link from Thunderbird 5. Scott was the first to chime in. "What's the action, Father? Why the sudden meeting?"

Jeff let out a deep sigh. "As you know, Gordon decided to spend his vacation volunteering at a summer camp in West Virginia. He started coaching one of the campers in swimming and wants to continue training her for the rest the summer..." said Jeff.

"So, we've lost our brother for 2 months?" asked Virgil.

"No, he wants to bring her here. He cut me off before I could give him an answer and he'll be calling back as soon as he returns to the orphanage where she lives," explained Jeff.

"I think it's just great, Father. It'd be like having a niece for the summer," said John. He smiled as he thought of showing her constellations from his mountaintop observatory and helping her build a crystal radio like when he was a kid.

"But your biggest concern is the orphanage itself, right Father? Hiding our operation is going to be tough, but if we can hide from the World Security Council, a small orphanage will be a cinch," said Alan from the video feed.

Kyrano cleared his throat. "Mr. Tracy, I believe that I speak for both my daughter and I when I say we will welcome the girl with open arms. All children should have a good sense of family and this little miss is no exception."

Virgil added," I'm with everyone else, Father. I don't see why she can't stay. 2 months isn't that long."

Brains finally looked up from the schematic he was studying. "As everyone knows, I w-was an orphan a-as well. I d-doubt I would be the p-person I am today if I wasn't a-adopted."

"Looks like you're out-voted, Father," chuckled Scott as he looked over Grandma's shoulder. The list she was working was for the things that they would need to host a little girl for the summer.

"I still don't like it," grumbled Jeff. After a brief, but awkward moment the video phone started to ring. "That will be Gordon now. Alan, we'll get back to you after everything is said and done."

"F.A.B., Father. Let me know how it goes," the young astronaut signed off. Virgil, being the closest to the button, initiated Operation Cover-up, changing the pictures on the wall from the boys in their International Rescue uniforms to more mundane family portraits.

Jeff straightened his collar and answered the call. "Go ahead, Gordon."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I took a few liberties on the position of the island and what non IR facilities them might have. Thanks to the few that have reviewed so far. I'm humbled that so many are taking the time to enjoy my hard work. Anywho, as always, standard disclaimer applies. I only own my story and characters.**

They had positioned the phone so everyone was in frame, which wasn't hard, since it was a small office. Gordon sat in the middle, with Karen to his left and the director of the orphanage, Alice Lilly, to his right. Visible on the screen were Jeff, Scott, Brains, and Grandma.

After making introductions, Jeff got down to business. "Gordon tells me that he's been coaching one of your children in swimming."

"Yes, sir," said Gordon. "In freestyle and the breaststroke. She's really coming along and I think it's safe to say that she'll be as fast as I am if she keeps it up."

"Mr. Tracy, I understand that your son here wants to take Sarah McHenry to your private island in the South Pacific to continue training for the summer. We're going to have to ask a few questions about the environment and the people who live in your household before we can allow her to go. First of all, how many people are on the island and can I have their names?" asked the director.

"There are 10 of us living here; myself, my mother Ruth, my sons Scott, John, Virgil, Alan, and of course, Gordon. Also here is our house man, Kyrano, his daughter Tin Tin, and the chief engineer for Tracy Industries, Hiram Hackenbacker."

"What is the closest city?"

"We're equal distances between Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. We own a small hanger at the Sydney airport. All of my sons, Tin Tin, and I are accomplished pilots and can take her to the mainland whenever she wants."

"Let's talk about medical emergencies. How well equipped are you to treat, say, a broken bone?"

"Almost everyone here has some form of emergency training. Scott, Gordon, and I had basic training in the military and as for Virgil, Alan, and John, a large family can be an excellent teacher."

"Gordon mentioned something about care packages and weekly calls to her friends here. Would you be okay with this?"

"The calls and packages are fine, but we ask that nothing perishable be included. We only get mail once a month."

"Fair enough. I've heard that strong storms are usually expected around August and September in your area. Do you have an evacuation plan in place that will be easy for Sarah to understand?"

"I c-can answer that, uh, Mr. Tracy," said Brains. "I helped d-design the, uh, buildings on the island. Everything i-is rated for a s-super typhoon and we have a state of the art w-weather system in the Round House. If conditions worsen, w-we are r-ready to leave at a m-moment's notice. S-sarah will only h-have to follow o-one of us to the, uh, submarine."

"Karen, I decided to send you with Gordon and Sarah to the island. Sort of a working vacation. I'll need daily reports on the usual things, like interactions with the family, crisis management, and the like."

"But what about my other kids? I can't just leave them!" exclaimed Karen.

"Denzel can take your cases until you get back. Gordon, how long is the flight time between here and the island?" said Alice.

"About two days if you take the Fireflash out of Pittsburgh, fly to Tokyo, then down to Sydney," confirmed Gordon. "Lucky for everyone I flew here in Tracy 2 and we can take an almost direct flight home, except for my usual pit stop in San Diego to refuel both me and the plane."

"I should have the guest rooms ready by then. I do have a question for Mrs. Lilly. Does Sarah have any special needs we should know about?" asked Grandma.

"No, but I would keep an eye out for homesickness after a while. All she's really known is the orphanage. The wonders of Paradise might only hold her for a few days."

"Roger that. I think we'll have plenty for her to do to keep her mind off home," confirmed Scott.

"Then there's only one more thing to do," said Alice as she reached for the intercom. "Sarah McHenry, Sarah McHenry, please come to Mrs. Lilly's office as soon as possible." She clicked off the com and waited, though not for long.

Sarah slowly opened the door and smiled at Gordon. "You wanted to see me, Mrs. Lilly?"

She gestured to the video phone. "This is Gordon's daddy, brother, friend, and grandma."

"Hello sirs, ma'am," said Sarah, giving them a little curtsy.

"We just had a long talk with Mrs. Lilly and Ms. Priddy," explained Scott, "and we want to bring you to our island for a few months. Would that be okay?"

Sarah looked at Gordon, who gave her a big smile and an excited nod. "I'd really like that, Mr. Tracy."

"You can call me Scott. Mr. Tracy is our Dad," he smiled.

"We'll leave first thing in the morning. I'm hangered at the county airport and I can turn in my rental car there as well. We'd better sign off. The girls have a lot of packing to do," Gordon pointed out.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: Sorry I took so long to update. I've been in and out of the hospital a couple of time for a bad staph infection and I haven't felt like writing. Your reward for your patience is two chapters back to back! Standard disclaimers apply._**

When Gordon pulled up to the orphanage, Karen and Sarah were waiting outside. All of the necessary paperwork had been filled out and filed the night before, but Alice insisted that she see them off to the airport. Sarah was receiving hugs all around, with promises to call as soon as she could and to take lots of pictures around the island. He got out of the car and leaned on the back door with his arms crossed, like he'd seen Parker do waiting for Lady Penelope with FAB1. Karen packed their luggage in trunk then joined him. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Almost," said Sarah, hugging her big teddy bear with the police officer uniform. "Thanks everybody! Wish me luck and I'll see you in 2 months."

"Call us as soon as you can after you land. We want to know that you made it safely," Alice said to Gordon.

"Will do," he said, giving a quick salute. There was a final chorus of good-byes and waves from the other kids. As he was buckling Sarah into the back seat, he asked, "You're not scared, are ya?"

"A little," she admitted, "but not as bad as I thought I'd be. I can't wait to meet everybody."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Standard disclaimer applies.**_

The majority of the trip was uneventful, and the girls welcomed the rest stop in San Diego. Gordon kept a small apartment near the shipyards; a leftover from his time with the World Aquanaut Security Patrol. "You ladies can take the bed and I'll take the sofa. Maintenance said they're going to need to find the fuel rods she needs to get us the rest of the way home," he said, referring to the plane as he unlocked the door.

"But you need rest more than we do. I did some couch surfing after college and I know how uncomfortable it can be," pointed out Karen. Sarah yawned into the top of her teddy bear's head.

"Looks like somebody's using the bed whether she likes it or not," he smiled as he picked her up and took her to the next room. After spending a few minutes tucking her in, he saw that Karen had made herself at home, raiding the cabinets and pantry. "Sorry there's nothing to eat. This is really just a crash pad for what little time I spent above sea level while I was in WASP. There's a great Korean joint a few blocks away that serves the best kim chi. I could go get something."

"Sounds great. I'll stay here with Sarah. Is the phone on? I should check in with Alice and tell her about our little layover," said Karen.

"Not for the apartment, but here," said Gordon, tossing her the satellite phone. "If there's a call from home, just let it go to voicemail."

Shortly after he left, a came in from "Home". Karen let it ring and let it go to voicemail, like she was told. She then shut the door to the bedroom, so she wouldn't wake up Sarah and dialed the number for Alice.

"Looks like we're spending the night in San Diego."

"Something about the fuel depot not having the right rods for the plane."

"He's getting us some Korean take out."

"She's asleep. Apparently he's got a crash pad here."

"Alice, I can't. I'm Sarah's case worker. I knew there was another reason you sent me."

"We'll talk about this when I get back. Goodbye."

She disconnected the call and let out a heavy sigh. Alice was trying to play matchmaker again and this time Gordon was her target.

Karen couldn't deny that she felt a connection the young aquanaut. His child-like wonder and sense of humor were infectious and his compassion for people set him apart from the other men she knew. The only thing holding her back was the thought of the ethics board. If the circumstances were different and she wasn't Sarah's case worker, she might try to get closer to him, but nothing doing until things are decided by the Tracys and the agency.

"Miss Karen? Where's Gordon?" yawned a sleepy little voice.

"What are you doing awake? He went to get some dinner. I don't reckon we'll be leaving until morning. You're going to have a big day tomorrow," she reminded Sara.

"Gordon has a big family. Do you think that they'll like me? How am I gonna fit in with a house full of boys?" wondered Sarah. "What if Mr. Tracy sends me back before the two months are up?" Tears slowly started to form in the corners of her eyes as her fears floated towards the surface.

"Oh, honey," said Karen as she gathered her in for a hug. "Nothing bad is going to happen. I don't know about Mr. Tracy, but he's anything like Gordon, he'll like you as soon as he sees you. I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Did you know that Gordon wants to adopt you? I think this a dry run to get everyone used to the idea of having you around."

"H-he wants to adopt me?" Sarah sniffled.

"That's what he told me. I know you're nervous, but just be yourself and do what they tell you. Plus, it's not all boys on the island. Mr. Tracy's secretary and their grandma are there if you need a girl to talk to," said Karen as she wiped Sarah's eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Right before Gordon got to the restaurant, he ducked down an alley and fired up the com in his watch. "Gordon, we just tried calling your sat phone. What happened?" asked Scott.

"Karen needed to check in with Alice about our layover. Apparently the fuel depot was out of rods for Tracy 2." he explained. "We're spending the night here in San Diego at my old apartment. I have a question for Brains, if he's around. Is the old com system for the island still working? You know, the one with the walkie talkies?"

"You mean the s-system from when we f-first moved here? N-not entirely, b-but I can add the f-frequency to our current one," said Brains.

"And we can carry dummy units," added Virgil. "Good thinking. We can give them live ones in case there's an emergency."

"I hope we won't need them for emergencies, but it'll be nice to be able to relay messages without obviously using our watches," pointed out Scott. "We'll just have to hold our handsets backwards so it looks like we're using them."

"Karen only has clearance for two weeks before she heads back. We'll be back to normal before long," said Gordon.

"I-in the m-meantime, I-I've been working on a communicator w-watch for, uh, Sarah after K-Karen leaves," said Brains.

"I'll go tell Father and Kyrano about your layover. Grandma and Tin-Tin were planning a welcome party for tonight but it looks like we'll have to put it off for now," said Virgil as the eyes on Alan's portrait started flashing and beeping.

"I'm guessing that's Alan with a mission. If you need Thunderbird 4, try not to scratch the paint. I just had her detailed," Gordon joked.

"We'll debrief you after the girls go to sleep," promised Scott.

"Have a good night and try to get some rest," said Virgil.

Gordon switched off his com and let out a heavy sigh as he thought about Sarah. Once she's told the truth, will she be able to handle the stress? The Tracys, as a unit, thrive on the pressure of rescuing people and rushing into the unknown. He admits to himself that he doesn't know much about what kind of abuse she endured, or even if she remembers it, being so young. As with a lot of things he never considered before now, he'll have to judge her reactions as they come. "What have I gotten myself into?"


	7. Chapter 7

They were about ten minutes out from the island when Gordon looked at the backseat of the plane. He smiled as he wondered how Sarah was sleeping in such an awkward position. Karen's head was propped up on the window, bobbing this way and that with the small amount of turbulence. He shook her awake and joked, "I'm getting a little tired myself. Think you can take over for a while?" He kicked in the autopilot and folded his arms, pretending to fall asleep.

She groggily agreed until her brain registered exactly what he said. "Oh my God! Gordon!" She grabbed for the yoke in front of her until she noticed the smirk on his face. She slapped him on the shoulder and looked out the window away from him.

"Relax, it was just a little joke. We'll be there soon. I thought you might like to see what the island looks like from the air. Would you mind waking up Sarah? I reckon she'll want to see it too," he explained.

"Sure," she said reaching for a little foot. "Sarah? Sarah, we're almost there."

"Huh?" Sarah moaned as she uncurled and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"Welcome home, kiddo. The island is out the left side window, if you wanna see," he pointed out. "I'll radio in for clearance to circle, then permission to land."

Sarah pressed her nose against the glass. She could see the buildings poking out from the jungle and the sandy beaches. An Olympic-sized pool was close to the main villa and a circle-shaped structure was on one of the mountaintops. As Tracy 2 was rounding the backside of the island, a faint glint of sunlight caught her eye on one of the higher peaks.

"What was that?"

"Probably the sun hitting the telescope," reasoned Gordon. "My brother John is an astronomer and he set up a small observatory away from the villa so the lights wouldn't interfere. If you ask him really nice, he might take you up there one night."

" _Tracy 2 from Island Control, are you planning on landing any time today? There are people on the ground wanting to meet our guests,"_ cracked Scott over the radio.

"Island Control from Tracy 2, on final approach now. Tell Virgil to fire up the grill."

Gordon landed the plane on the runway with practiced ease. Kyrano and John waited at the entrance to the hanger, doors still closed for security reasons. Sarah waved at the landing party as they taxied over. John, being ever the gentleman, offered his hand to each of the girls as they walk down the steps off Tracy 2. "Welcome to our little slice of Heaven. I'm John."

"Karen," she said, shaking his hand, "and this is Sarah. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Everybody is gathering by the pool. If you'll let Kyrano take your bags, I can show you to a bathroom so you can freshen up before dinner. Gordon, Father wanted to see you when you landed. He's in the lounge."

"Take good care of my girls, Johnny. I'll see you soon," winked Gordon as he headed up the staircase with Kyrano not far behind. He walked into the lounge, quickly noting that Operation Cover-up was in full swing. "Is everything okay, Father? John said you needed to talk to me as soon as we landed."

"Gordon, you know very well what I think of this whole scheme of yours. Sarah may have promise as a swimmer, just like you did at her age, but I can't help but think bringing her here was a big mistake," reasoned Jeff.

"We can pull this off if everybody pitches in, Father. Trust me, you'll fall in love with her in no time."

"Have you came up with an excuse for Alan?"

"She knows we own Tracy Industries. I told her that he was away on business and he'll be back after she leaves. Everything is covered, just like you taught us. She's fine with meeting the family tonight and expects a tour in the morning. As for Sarah and this being a Friday, I was thinking about giving her the weekend to adjust to the time change."

"Very well. There's not much I can do now that they're here and I shouldn't put this off any longer," smiled Jeff.


	8. Chapter 8

As expected, Sarah was already in the pool and Karen was chatting with Grandma. "This place is amazing, but why the isolation?"

"Isn't it obvious, dear? Almost everyone here is famous for something. Jeff helped establish the first lunar colonies before founding Tracy Industries, Scott was a test pilot in the Air Force, John discovered a quasar while he was still in university, Virgil is an accomplished composer and artist, Gordon won a gold medal in swimming and invented a new type of rebreather that the World Navy and WASP now use, and Alan was a racecar driver. The whole family values their privacy, so Jeff bought this island and moved us all out here," explained Grandma.

"The orphanage was concerned about how out of the way this seemed, but I'll add what you said to my report," said Karen as she sipped on an iced tea.

An Asian woman in a one-piece bathing suit sat down on the lounger next to Grandma. Holding a frozen drink, she gestured, "You must be Karen. I'm Tin-Tin, Mr. Tracy's secretary and the house man's daughter. It's wonderful to have you in our home."

"Thank you, Tin-Tin. It's lovely, from what I've seen so far. You know, you're going to have a hard time keeping her out of that pool. I swear she should have been born with gills," chuckled Karen.

"That's why she's here, isn't it? Since it looks like it'll be awhile before Father and Gordon join us, I'll introduce you to everyone. Sarah, could you come over here, please?" announced John. He waited as she climbed out and got a towel from Grandma. "Okay, the tall guy with the deep dimples coming from the villa is our oldest brother, Scott. Manning the grill is resident middle child, Virgil. He's promised us a concert later tonight in the lounge and we might be able to talk Gordon into joining him on guitar. The guy with the thick glasses in the other cabana is Hiram Hackenbacker, Father's favorite engineer. Around here, we just call him Brains. You already met Kyrano when you landed and you've been talking to Grandma and Tin-Tin. I'm sure Gordon told you that Alan is away for the time being."

"Will I still have the chance to talk to him? I'm supposed to interview the whole family if possible," pointed out Karen.

"I'm sure he'll call in eventually to touch base. Father likes for us to check in about once a day when we're off island," explained John.

"Your father runs a tight ship. Will he be able to handle the disruption of Sarah being here so long?" wondered Karen.

"We'll all have some adjusting to do, but I don't have any worries." he told her. "Ah, here comes Gordon and Father now."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Tracy. I'm Karen Priddy," she said as she met them at the foot of the stairway. She held out her hand so Jeff could shake it.

"Ah, yes. The woman from the orphanage," said Jeff, returning the gesture. "And this must be Sarah. I see you're already enjoying yourself." With her hair sticking out at all angles from her quick towel dry, he couldn't help smiling at how much she reminded him of his fish of a son when he was training.

"Yes sir, Mr. Tracy. Thank you for hosting me while I'm training," she said, fidgeting with the end of the towel. "I love the pool and I can't wait to see the beach."

"I'm glad you like it, but I want you to promise me that you won't go down there without one of us, especially during high tide. The undertow can get pretty strong and we don't want you getting swept out to sea," said Jeff in a stern voice.

"That goes for the jungle too," added Gordon. "It's easy to get lost if you don't know where you're going."

"No beach, no jungle," she repeated. "Got it."

Tin-Tin chimed in, "Do you swim, Karen? Gordon and I can show you how to dive in the nearby reefs and caves. Words can't express their beauty. They simply must be seen."

"I've been snorkeling but I've never been deep sea diving before. Is it hard?" wondered Karen.

"Not at all. We can go over the basics in the morning," smiled Tin-Tin as she winked at Jeff.

"Dinner's ready!" announced Virgil, holding a large platter of freshly grilled steaks. "Dining room in five."

"Oh boy," said Gordon, ringing his hands excitedly. "I haven't had one of Virgil's steaks in ages. You girls are in for a real treat."


	9. Chapter 9

As promised, Virgil sat at the baby grand in lounge, switching between classical, jazz, and his own compositions. Gordon occasionally joined in, when he wasn't fielding questions from Sarah about the island and his brothers. She also seemed to be talking to John a lot, and he seemed to enjoy the attention. They even, at one point, went to the patio so he could point out different constellations in the night sky. "Thanks, Uncle John. That was a lot of fun," she said when they came back.

"Uncle?" Jeff questioned, raising his eyebrow.

"It kind of has a nice ring to it, Father," admitted Scott. "What do you say? How does Uncle Scott sound?"

"About as good as Uncle Virgil," said Virgil as he finished playing some ragtime.

She looked at Jeff expectingly, but he grumbled, "Mr. Tracy is fine for now."

Karen started watching Brains and Scott's chess game with some fascination. "That looks hard."

"It's c-can be when you f-first start. I-I could teach you s-sometime."

"Thank you Mr. Brains," said Sarah, giving him a big hug.

He blushed deeply as he went back to the game. Virgil started in with "Linus & Lucy" with Sarah dancing along. Gordon walked over to Karen and whispered, "The only thing that would make this night perfect would be if Sarah called me Dad. I'm not trying to push the issue, but I can see her fitting in just fine."

Karen smiled, "You'll have to talk to Alice about that, not that I think she'll object." She stood up and announced, "It's been a lovely evening but I think I'm going to turn in. If someone can show me where I can hook up my laptop so I can send my report..."

"I'll do it," offered John as he noticed a yawn from Sarah as well. "Gordon?"

"I've got Sarah. C'mon, kiddo. Time for bed," he said, hoisting her on to his hip. She laid her head on his shoulder and slowly closed her eyes. They walked back the hall to the guest rooms, Karen on the left and Sarah on the right. As they were coming out of the rooms, John got Gordon's attention and signed TALK LATER. Gordon gave a confused look but agreed before going to his own room to change for a moonlight swim.


End file.
